On Occasion, it may become necessary to sand a wood deck floor prior to restaining: the surface of the wood may have become weathered, oxidized and/or uneven. Similarly, over time the surfaces of an interior wood floor especially the surface coating can become worn through use and require refinishing. To ensure a new coating adheres properly to the wood often necessitates removal of the old coating.
Traditionally, special purpose floor sanders have been used to remove the top layer of a deck or interior wood floor. Floor sanders are relatively expensive and do not represent a practical purchase for most homeowners who might otherwise desire to re-finish their decks and wood floor themselves. While floor sanders can sometimes be rented through equipment rental facilities, they are typically very powerful and as a consequence difficult for those without experience. Errors in sanding the floor can cause divots, unevenness and/or the removal of too much wood: all of which could ruin the floor and necessitate very costly replacement.
For small areas, a small hand held orbital sander can be used to sand a deck or wood floor; however, for larger areas the amount of time a user must toil on his/her hands and knees becomes significant and can cause great discomfort. Furthermore, the power and consequently material removal rate of a single hand held orbital sander is relatively low especially compared to a commercial floor sander making it impractical for use on all but small square footage applications.